Serving up a good time

Sonia Nobles sprays down the Dizzy Dragon children’s ride as employees of Inners Shows set up Tuesday on Mitchell Street for the 33rd Annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse. The rides will open today at 5 p.m. and continue through Saturday.

Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 07:09 PM.

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The biggest event in Kinston and largest barbecue festival in North Carolina is back in town.

Today kicks off the 33rd Annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse, which has grown in popularity over the years with more than 25,000 people in attendance for the four-day event in 2013.

Kinston resident Margaret Beckwith said she enjoys the food from the festival.

“I can’t wait for the event so I can get my hands on some funnel cake,” Beckwith said. “The barbecue always looks and tastes good. I’ll be looking around, seeing what everyone has because it all smells so wonderful.”

Mary Ann Pettaway, another Kinston resident, said she worked at Howell’s Development Group Home in the past and took clients to the festival.

The biggest event in Kinston and largest barbecue festival in North Carolina is back in town.

Today kicks off the 33rd Annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse, which has grown in popularity over the years with more than 25,000 people in attendance for the four-day event in 2013.

Kinston resident Margaret Beckwith said she enjoys the food from the festival.

“I can’t wait for the event so I can get my hands on some funnel cake,” Beckwith said. “The barbecue always looks and tastes good. I’ll be looking around, seeing what everyone has because it all smells so wonderful.”

Mary Ann Pettaway, another Kinston resident, said she worked at Howell’s Development Group Home in the past and took clients to the festival.

Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy, who is the same age as the festival, said he has seen the growth since he was a child.

“It’s such an exciting event that more people will be in downtown Kinston this weekend than live in the entire city,” Murphy said. We will have activities and food for all ages, and it’s a great opportunity to showcase the people of Kinston.

“This festival has continued to add attractions, pigs and celebrities, and the culmination of all these things have led to an explosion of popularity. I remember the ‘Hog Happening’ in the old tobacco warehouse, and now the pigs are lined up by the Neuse River. There will be games, bands and other great activities.”

Jan Parson, director of special projects and events at the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, said plenty of events have been planned, including several new ones.

“We’ve got an Evening with the Stars, car shows, a corn hole tournament and we’ll have pitmaster Sam Jones for the Sauce Boss competition, which was very popular last year,” Parson said. “Chef and the Farmer will have a new competition called ‘Southern Sides,’ and King’s Restaurant will be working with Vivian (Howard) and Ben (Knight) with it. Mother Earth will have their first home brew competition, we’ll have the wine garden for the second time and the duck race will be the finale (on Saturday.)

“There will be 90 to 100 vendors and 80 cook teams. The duck race and the cookoff have been staples for many years, as well as the Community Council of the Arts, and the Chamber hosts the festival. We have 300 volunteers and 25 sponsors as well.”

Knight said he and Howard sat down and talked about ideas for the festival, which brought the idea of the Southern Sides competition.

“We had a lot of fun with the Sauce Boss competition, we thought of more exciting things related to food and Vivian had the idea for a sides competition,” Knight said.

Sandy Landis, executive director of the Community Council for the Arts, said one of today’s events will be the Plein Air Paint Out, where artists across the state create works, with the judging Friday afternoon.

“The paintings will go on display and sale at the arts market in the Ellis Carriage Building on the corner of Blount and Herritage,” Landis said. “The painters don’t mind being approached and the like interacting with the people. Many of them come back because they like the progress being made in Kinston that is arts driven.

“There will also be Evening with the Stars, a social gathering and art event, from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday at the Red Room. There’s a $35 admission charge and that includes beverages and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Leonard Palmer, a local elementary school teacher and pianist will be performing, and there will be a wide assortment of handmade products for sale by artists across the state.”

Tammy Kelly, director of the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension, said the number of cookoff participants has more than tripled since 2003.

“In my first year, we had 24, then in 2007 we had 42,” Kelly said. “The last three or four years, we’ve had 70 or more, and this year we’ve got 80 and a waiting list of at least eight (as of Tuesday.) One of the toughest jobs is making everyone happy and getting things situated. If we can do that, everything will be great.”

Newport resident Jim Bristle has cooked pigs for 20 years in the cookoff, and volunteered to help set up this year.

“I like coming up here and cooking,” Bristle said. “I help run one in Newport, so I come here to relax.”

The 2013 winner, Charlie Meeks — also from Newport — couldn’t compete this year due to injury, but said he plans on being back next year.

“I look forward to it every year,” Meeks said. “I just enjoy cooking pigs and have done it since ’91. You hope to get a good pig off the back of the truck, prepare it to the best of your abilities, cook until it’s done and tender, and have a good sauce to go with it.”

Amusement rides, which debuted last year will also start today, from 5-9 p.m.

“For the second time, we’ll have a large assortment of rides for our community, and (today) we’ll have a family night, where people can ride all night for $17,” Chamber president Laura Lee Sylvester said. “We’re excited to have the rides back knowing how much the community and region enjoyed them last year.”

Lenoir County fair association ride coordinator Mark Philgreen said he’s hoping inclement weather won’t hurt the possibilities of good crowds on the first day of the festival.

“If the weather holds off, we should have a really good turnout,” Philgreen said. “I think everything is very well-organized and located very close together, so hopefully people will come out and enjoy the rides.”
Parson said she hopes to see more than 25,000 people at the festival.

“When you’re cooking 80 whole hogs, have some of the best barbecue in the nation and have fun events, it’s a win-win for everyone,” Parson said.

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.